Emergent Readers: Look! That's My Letter!

By: Reading Rockets

Subscribe to Growing Readers!

Have Growing Readers delivered each month right to your inbox! (In English & Spanish) Sign up here >

Even the youngest child is somewhere on the path to becoming a reader. As a parent, it's important to support your child's efforts in a positive way and help him or her along the reading path. Here's a little information about emergent readers, and a few pointers to keep in mind.

An emergent reader:

knows some letters of the alphabet

understands that writing conveys a message

uses "scribble" writing when writing

may recognize some words or letters in their environment (words like "stop" or "exit" or letters like the giant "K" signifying Kmart or the golden arches "M" signifying McDonald's)

When reading with an emergent reader:

Model finger-point reading. That means to follow the words with your finger from left to right as you read them. As your emergent reader starts to read, they will learn to do the same thing.